Reality Kicks In
by aurla0
Summary: And here, ladies and gentlemen, is what I think would happen if the villagers of Konoha did hate Naruto as much as some stories say they do. Sort of dark.


DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

Reality Kicks In

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><p>Naruto Uzumaki was hated.<p>

He was extremely hated. Detested. Shunned.

He was, in fact, so hated, that most of the citizens of Konoha couldn't eat ramen, say the word 'whirlpool' and or 'maelstrom', or look at the colors yellow and blue for more than five seconds before being consumed by a burning rage. (This, obviously made the Yamanaka clan's life in the village quite an uncomfortable one. Remember this.)

For some reason, however, Naruto had not died yet, despite his propensity towards life endangering actions, such as going out in public. The fact that he liked to play pranks was like the icing on top of the cake.

It was like there was some invisible, thin barrier between Naruto and the rest of the world, keeping the village from attacking him. Of course, everything breaks- eventually.

It was already strained by time he was four years old. If the Sandaime Hokage had been able to see the condition of the barrier protecting his unofficially adopted grandson, he would have grabbed Naruto right then and there and run as far away from the 'peaceful' village of Konoha as he possibly could.

But the Sandaime, unfortunately, despite being Very Old, did not have that kind of ability. And so little four year old Naruto left the Hokage's office with a bit of candy in his pocket, and the Third suddenly had a **Very Bad Feeling**. The sort of **Very Bad Feeling** that he had only had when **Very Bad Things** were about to happen. In a stroke of bad luck, however, a large stack of paperwork was delivered to the Hokage at that particular moment, and he chalked his previous **Very Bad Feeling** up to the impending paperwork.

Meanwhile, an innocent four year old was strolling down the streets of Konoha to get back to the housing unit that the Third had given him. (This housing unit was given after the Hokage had had a **Very Bad Feeling**, went to the orphanage, and found the owner feeding an unsuspecting Naruto cyanide. Luckily, he survived.)

On this day, however, there were several unlucky coincidences. One- an actual demon fox with two tails had been spotted outside Konoha. Naruto didn't notice, but there were many more sideways glares and hushed whispers that day. Two- It was lunchtime, and shinobi and civilians alike were coming out onto the streets to get food. It made for an abundance of people who hated Naruto. Three- the leader of the Yamanaka clan had had a child just a few hours previously. The beautiful, healthy baby girl had been christened Ino, and her father had fallen instantly in love with his daughter.

The Yamanaka's, with no fault of their own, were regarded with some suspicion because of their resemblance to the demon child. The only reason why they weren't shunned was because of their Kekkai Genkai and the fact that the leader of the clan, Yamanaka Inoichi was a respected member of society. But that could change. That could change very fast, and Inoichi, as a psychologist along with his Kekkai Genkai, knew exactly what he could do to prevent it from changing.

He hadn't before now mostly because there were no signs that the public opinion would change, and because his clan could survive being shunned by the general populace. They still had connections after all.

But this- his child, his daughter... He couldn't let it happen to her. He knew what he had to do.

Carefully, he placed his daughter in his wife's arms, and with a kiss, went out into the streets.

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><p>Naruto was walking down the street cheerfully, sucking on the bit of lemon candy that the Sandaime had given to him.<p>

He was stopped by a man with yellow hair and blue eyes, just like him! He had seen this man around Konoha, and he seemed nice enough, so Naruto gave him a big smile.

The man flinched. And then he said he was sorry.

Sorry for what? Naruto wondered. Why is he-

Then he felt an incredible pain, and then it was over.

...

Inoichi stared at the beheaded body that was once Naruto Uzumaki.

He knew what the next step was.

"THE DEMON IS DEAD!" He yelled, raising the bloody blond head into the air.

Silence.

Then he was swamped by a cheering crowd, eager to desecrate the body of a boy who died too young.

Inoichi closed his eyes and apologized over and over again. But inside himself, he thought- _Better you than Ino._

And that just made him feel worse.

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><p>Author's Note.<p>

**Aurla0: And here, ladies and gentlemen, is what I think would happen if the villagers of Konoha did hate Naruto as much as some stories say they do. Sort of dark.**


End file.
